Revenge of Dr. T
by Moonfire
Summary: If you've seen the 5000 Fingers of Dr. T, you'll know what I'm talking about. Dr. T returns to contend with a female musician. He's bad...she's worse.


Dr. Maximilian Terwilliker lay in a terrifying dream. He found himself in a concert out of control, if it could be called a concert. It was more like Dante's Inferno. A din such as he had never heard nor seen before blasted from the stage before him, and an endless crowd pressed in from all sides. All was chaos. The lead singer's voice burst out from the microphone and it was as though the very hounds of hell had been unleashed. The crazy-eyed people jumped, yelled, and writhed, and the next thing he knew, he was being carried by thousands of hands to a supposed sacrifice. He heard a bloodcurdling scream, and realized it was his own.   
  
Then, he woke up.   
  
The ticking metronome above Dr. T's bed sounded like a bass drum at a parade pounding in time to his newly-formed headache. His silk pajamas were bunched around his arms like a straightjacket, and he struggled to smooth the top out before sitting up to stare blankly at the wall.   
  
What on earth has happened to me?   
  
His concert with the boys was tonight, and he wasn't prepared. He had meant to stay up half the night organizing their concert pieces but had fallen asleep. One of his hands knocked off a sheet of music from the bed and he noticed the entire room was littered with them like confetti. In a panic, he rang for one of his manservants, a guy who looked suspiciously like one of the guards in the dream, only dressed now in butler attire.   
  
"Have this mess cleaned immediately." he ordered. "And get me my breakfast."  
  
"Yes, Doctor."  
  
Two other servants appeared and gathered up the fallen papers, then scurried out to prepare the morning meal.   
  
Dr. T just as quickly hurried into his outfit for the day, a subdued but dignified number in shades of dark blue. It was of a design of his own making, rendered in his mind as he rendered his piano compositions. It was half robe, half tunic and was blended so subtly one couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. As he moved, the material shimmered almost metallic blue as it caught the light. His matching blue patent leather shoes made barely a noticeable sound as he walked through the rooms of his giant, piano-themed mansion toward the waiting limosine. Even the lobby floor was made up of black and white porcelin tiles to resemble the keys of a piano. Today was an important day, not just because he had his big concert tonight, but because he was going to propose marriage to Mrs. Collins. He smiled to himself. That would settle down that incorrigible boy, he thought. No more "I wanna go outside" or "I don't think the piano's my instrument". Hmph! By Mozart's wig, it would be a blue moon before he'd let that boy turn into a common hooligan...  
  
Of course, Bart wasn't the main reason he was betrothed to his angel of a mother. Their wedding night was the only other thing that competed for his obsession with the piano. For years, he had thought of nothing else until he had met...her. Of course, there had been that girl in his youth who was a fellow competitor in his first piano concert. He had never forgiven her for beating him...or for turning him down for a date. Ah! If she could see him NOW! The show is over, Serefina Peterowski...tonight you shall witness my crowning triumph...  
  
With these self-congratulating thoughts, he strode up to the door of Mrs. Collins.   
  
Bam!Bam!Bam! Went his charachteristicly firm knocks. Dr. T. cleared his throat just as she answered the door.   
  
"Dr. Terwiliker!" she practically gasped, then composed herself, looking somewhat guilty and distracted. "You caught me at a bad time. Can you come back later?"  
  
"This cannot wait, Eloise." he said in a hurried undertone. He took her hands as she nervously looked back at the room behind her. He got down on one knee, looked up at her imploringly, then slowly said, "Mrs. Collins. Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Terwiliker?"  
  
"Maxmilian! "I..."  
  
"Who's at the door?" Mr. Zablidowsky's voice sounded from behind Eloise. Dr. T. stood up in a huff, a fire in his black eyes. Eloise blushed and broke away from him to face the approaching plumber. Before she could announce him, August broke in. "Oh, it's you. Well, since you're here, I might as well tell ya. Me and Eloise are getting married tonight, so Bart's lessons'll have to wait awhile." He winked sarcastically. She shot him an indeciperable look, then apologized to Dr. T.   
  
"I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to tell you." she said sweetly, unconciously squeezing August's hand. "But we can pick up Bart's lessons after the honeymoon."  
  
"Honeymoon??" Dr. T. said in a weak voice as though in disbelief to himself, his hands to his face. "I think I should go now..." he trailed off, turning around before either of them could say any more. They looked at each other and Eloise called out to him, but Max didn't answer. He was making a blind run toward his waiting car. "Married! Honeymoon!" he kept repeating to himself, with his head in his hands.   
  
"Are you all right, Sir?" his chauffer asked, looking in the rearview mirror.   
  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just take me back to the mansion. I have a concert to do."  
  
He had to get his mind on the concert. Off her. He HAD to! Still, schemes were forming in his mind on how to win her back...there had to be a way. Confound that plumber! It was as if he had hypnotized her or something...the nerve of that man! Eloise, falling for a mere plumber instead of HIM! It was an outrage!   
  
Dr. T went over his concert routine as his servants prepared him for the big night. They filled his jacuzzi-sized bathtub with Perrier, left him alone to wash and dress in his silk black condutor suit, then doused his hair with enough gel to outshine a 30s gangster. With a spritz of Gravity for Men, he was ready to take on the piano world.   
  
The concert was held in the college auditorium, and all of his boys were there except of course, Bart. But there was someone else there whom he didn't expect to see. Serefina. His heart stopped, and he forgot all about Mrs. Collins. She was stunning even as a teenager, but practically a goddess now with her back-length flaming red hair and crystaline light green eyes. His own eyes followed the contours of her heart-shaped face with its pale, bright skin and swan-like neck. She wore a black velvet dress that was form fitting with long sleeves save for the bottom skirt that swished like a dark cloud. She entered from the lobby and slid past him with nary a backward glance of recognition. Of course she had been very aware of him...but refused to acknowledge it. Her own heart had stopped, mostly in shock, upon seeing her old "enemy" after all these years. Indeed, little boys grew up fast...  
  
She sat in the front row to await her turn at the piano. It was just like old times, only better. Serefina's eyes sparkled with anticipation. As expected, Dr. T had lived up to his reputation and produced an amazing composition of his own making, only this time he was the conductor as his boys sat at evently spaced pianos and carried out the song. Talk about power trips...she felt sorry for those kids...some of them looked like they needed a pee break...  
  
Almost twenty minutes later, she got up and played her piece, something she had heard in a dream. It was haunting, and had a universal but otherworldly quality that made everyone sit up and listen, especially, to her delight, Maxmilian Terwiliker. Jealousy and fascination danced in the glistening depths of his eyes, and something else she couldn't quite identify.   
  
He watched her, his old rival. How she shined tonight, how she dazzled the masses with her bewitching music! Oh, she would pay, she would pay dearly. No one bested the great Dr. Terwiliker and got away with it. When at last the concert came to a breathless end, the judges announced the winner. And it was Serefina! Again!!! Dr. T. gripped the arms of his chair and scowled like an alley cat preparing for a fight.   
  
"Splendid performance, Doctor." Serefina winked at him on the way out. That infernal woman had the nerve to rub it in! Splendid indeed! He thought about having his chauffer slash one of her tires, then thought the better of it. No, that was too undignified. He would come up with something MUCH better than that...  
  
With a nod and a "well done" to the boys, which was as much praise as they would ever get out of him, Dr. T. bid goodnight to the guests and attendees. He was too tired to deal with the woman tonight. He would sleep on it.   
  
Sleep he did, and more... 


End file.
